gems like Yellowpoint Lodge, has always been great getaway ter- Icok across the bay, known as ritory, and new delights such as Drayton Harbour, and you'll see a Sooke Harbour House have yacht harbor just a few hundred emerged. Whistler has matured in- yards across the water: that's to a convenient destination with Semiahmoo. tremendous vitality and variety, and the Harrison Hot Springs Drayton Harbour on the spur of Hotel is being revived by investors land north of Birch Bay. This is a with a yen for quality. Semiahmoo, just 40 miles from Vancouver, which makes for a_ building are a good size, while 28 very accessible resort indeed. The have fireplaces. Some have border crossing at Blaine is no balconies and of course a har- problem if you choose your time bor’s-edge water view is preferable and I encountered a most amiable to one that starts with the parking American border official. 32 - Sunday, November 19, 1989 - North Shore News New Semiahmoo resort is a welcome weekend getaway binoculars and a bird book, or doze the afternoon away. The beach is grand for strolling and beachcombing, and _ visitors who bring their cheque books can buy a condo in a handsome devel- opment between the hotel and the golf course. Walk the other way and there's a stout dock where the Gray Line offers sightseeing cruises through the San Juan Islands (with time ashore at Friday Harbour), sunset cruises around the bay and sport- fishing charters. If all this is too much for the serious slouch there is a bar so well located that it’s impossible to walk anywhere without falling into it. This is Packer’s Lounge, actual- ly the old cannery fish house. Here you can buy Samuel Smith’s tasty beers and a Scottish ale — from Yakima, Washington, no _ less. There’s music in the evenings, and a limited bar menu with very rea- sonable prices. The Stars restaurant offers fine dining, but to get the best out of it insist on a view table, Breakfast can mean lineups if a tour bus has called, so check on the tour situa- tion before going to bed, and if a large group is in the house simply order a room-service breakfast. If you're lucky you'il wake up to a misty morning, foghorns from across the bay, and seagulls crying, and the aroma of salty air and wood chips from last night’s fire. A NEW resort at Semiahmoo promises to be a welcome addition io the list of burgeoning weekend retreats for local travellers. Vancouver Island, with rustic her first starring roll’’). Stop at the marina at Blaine and To get there keep driving around pastoral change after the boredom of freeway driving, even before the 800 acres of Semiahmoo unfolds within tall trees and a richly mani- cured golf course whose young fairways have already acquired many homes, some of them im- pressive enough to accommodate a foursome and extended families. When the trees fall behind, you are on a narrow causeway that suddenly fills out like a lamb chop, the meaty area being the site of the old Alaska Packers fish cannery. Some of the original buildings have been retained, and parts of an old dock are evident, but what stands out is the new inn — a handsome lodge of 200 rooms. Parking is plentiful and free (unlike hotels where parking charges for guests are an increasing irritant) and check-in efficient and friendly. Porters are available, but if you want to carry your own bags and find your own room, as some peo- Now we have the Inn at ple do, that’s fine. All the rooms in the four-storey travel talk David Wishart Jot before your eye finds the shore. Once in the U.S. you make a_ Rates range from U.S. $105 to quick veer to the right and drive $190 during the winter. through Blaine, which hardly seems to have changed in 20 years a room with a fireplace there is a apart from the closing of the cheerful fire in the lobby, and the Seavue Theatre (where actress X lounge nearby has comfortable was once billed as ‘‘appearing in armchairs where you can sit with If you don’t want to lash out on iT suone WENTURE TRAVEL BERMUDA STAR LINE CRUISES SS QUEEN OF BERMUDA NEW ORLEANS TO MEXICO’S YUCATAN ~ XMAS 1989 CRUISE PLUS NEW YEARS IN NEW ORLEANS ITINERARY Fri, Dec. 22 Fly - Vancouver to New Orleans Fri, Dec. 22 Ovemight - 1 night - Riverside Hilton Sat., Dec. 23 Cruise - Depart New Orleans Sat., Dac. 23 Mississippi River Cruising Sun., Dec. 24 At Sea - Gulf of Mexico Mon., Dec. 25 Key West, Florida Tue., Dec. 26 At Sea - Yucatan Strait Wed., Dec. 27 Playa Del Carmen (Cancun) Wed., Dec. 27 Cozumel Thus., Dec. 28 Cozumel Fri, Dec. 29 At Sea - Gulf of Mexico Sat., Dec. 30 Arrive - New Orleans - Overnight Sun., Dec. 31 2 nights - Hyatt Regency Mon., Jan. 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